


Framed!

by jessicadamien



Category: Love Actually (2003)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-03 02:50:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11522970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessicadamien/pseuds/jessicadamien
Summary: A closer look at one of the many relationships from the movie "Love Actually".





	Framed!

****

Framed

It had been a tiresome day, and all Harry wanted to do was to grab a shower, stuff himself with Karen’s cooking, and veg out until he could legally retire to his bed. He hung his jacket up on the coat rack just inside the door, his head already beginning to throb in time with the kids’ playtime noises, echoing around the house from the playroom.

He headed for the kitchen, kissing Karen’s cheek as she concentrated on adjusting the flame under the large pot on the cooker. It smelled heavenly, and his stomach growled in appreciation and anticipation. She turned to him, smiling widely.

“Happy birthday, love,” she said, hugging him. “Just us tonight, but you know that tomorrow we’ll be seeing my brothers, right?”

“That means you haven’t been able to wriggle out of it, right?”

“Don’t be such a party pooper! It isn’t often we can drag one away from his political duties, and we’re long overdue to see the other. It’s also a rare occasion when I can get a sitter, so I, for one, plan to take advantage of it.”

“We’re not going to go all wild, are we?”

“No, dear; just a bit of dinner and perhaps some dancing after. We can probably slip away early enough. I know you tire easily, now that you’re an old man.”

He swatted her backside as she turned back to the stew, and as he moved to leave the kitchen, she called out to him. “Oh, your mail is on the table. You’ve got a package!”

He looked through the mail, shunting aside bills for later bookkeeping, tossing away the junk. His eyes rested on a plain, brown-wrapped parcel, noting the feminine hand that had addressed it. Picking it up, he rattled it next to his ear, but it had been packaged so well that he couldn’t hear anything. Glancing at Karen, he began to tear away the paper, and found a brightly-wrapped box under it. No return address.

Karen came to lean over his shoulder as he removed the paper and opened the small box. Inside was a small card.

__

_Happy Birthday, Harry!_  
You know what to do with this.  
Yours,  
you-know-who 

His heart began pounding nervously, knowing Karen had read the card. Glancing quickly at her, he noted her narrowed eyes, the subtle grinding of her teeth. There was nothing for it; he had to follow through. Moving away the layers of tissue paper under the card, he found a simple key. A smallish gold key with a red dot on it. His brow furrowed, and he sent a confused look to Karen.

“And why is she sending you a key?” Karen asked him accusingly. “A key you clearly expected to get?”

“I don’t know why she sent me a key,” he denied. “And I didn’t expect to get anything at all from her; no one at the office knows it’s my birthday. And this key could open anything, I suppose. Perhaps she made arrangements to have a new file cabinet moved into the office or something.”

“Yes, that would explain why she would gift-wrap the key and send it to you on your birthday,” Karen shot back. “Stop thinking of me as a moron. You know you can’t lie to me; you’re no good at it. Mia sent you her house key, fully expecting you to use it.”

“No, Karen,” he argued, his forehead breaking out in a sweat. “It only happened once, and it’s over. Never again!” He held her eyes, willing her to see the truth in them. “Perhaps she’s simply trying to make trouble for me. I had no idea she’d do this; I certainly haven’t encouraged her. In fact, I made it clear that I wasn’t interested. She didn’t seem to have a problem with that.”

Karen stared hard at him for an eternity, until he moved to stir the stew, breaking eye contact. But as soon as he’d saved dinner, he turned back to her, searching her eyes for what she was thinking. She had to believe him! It wasn’t fair that he should pay for his one-time indiscretion for the rest of his life. Karen was normally much more fair-minded than that.

He timidly raised his hand to caress her face, wishing she’d speak. She didn’t move away from him, and he took it as a good sign. He stood quietly, allowing her all the time she needed to think. He refused to acknowledge the threat Mia once again posed. It was over, and he and Karen had already begun healing their troubled marriage.

“Why would she do this?” Karen asked him quietly. “Why would she want to make trouble? Does she believe that if you and I broke up, she’d have you? Is that what she’s after?”

“I don’t know what she’s after, Karen. I want nothing to do with her.”

“Then fire her!”

He blinked, surprised at the vehemence in her voice. He frowned, and after two tries, was able to force a few words from his mouth. “I need a plausible reason to fire someone,” he said. “I can’t very well explain to Administration what had happened between us; I’d probably lose my job as well. They frown on such things going on in the workplace.”

“I don’t care what reason you come up with,” she said, and he suppressed a shudder at the bitter hatred he heard in her normally placid voice. “Just get rid of her. Get rid of her at once! If she’s still there by the end of the week, the kids and I will be gone by Saturday!”

She pivoted sharply and stormed out of the kitchen. Harry turned off the fire under the stew and stood there, staring at the wall in front of him.

* * * *

Harry checked his watch as he waited for the caller on the other end of the line to end his monologue; Karen would be here any minute now. They had planned lunch together; Karen said she would be downtown shopping and wanted to take a break from the crowds, but Harry knew she really wanted an excuse to see for herself that Mia was no longer working at the desk in front of his office. He didn’t mind; he was glad to give her proof that he had taken her threat seriously. He’d fired Mia the day after his birthday. She’d gotten notice from Administration only yesterday. The official reason for termination was listed as excessive absenteeism; he knew it would be a difficult thing to check.

He smiled and waved as Karen made her way across the outer office to enter his. He gestured for her to sit, and rolled his eyes to show her that he was trying to end the conversation. She shrugged and took the time to check her make-up and hair.

He heaved a sigh of relief as he replaced the phone in its cradle, but as he looked up at Karen, his heart lurched in his chest. He’d been hoping to be spared this display, but Mia was rushing toward his office; he could see tears on her face, and he braced himself for the explosion. Why couldn’t Admin have waited until Friday afternoon before giving her notice? He could have been spared all this.

Mia burst through the door, startling Karen into drawing a red line across her cheek. “Harry! How could you do this to me? I don’t deserve this!”

“I have nothing to do with it, Mia,” he said softly, not wanting the rest of the outer office to hear. Mia had left the door open, and all ears were focused on the drama unfolding.

“Admin is clamping down on everyone. Your record decided what action they’d take.” He felt the heavy guilt of his lie lodge in his throat, and he willed himself to keep his voice steady. It was true; she didn’t deserve this. But there was too much at stake; she had to go.

“They told me it was due to absenteeism,” she spat out. “That’s an outright lie! You know why I’ve been fired. It had to be you who told them to do it. Why? You had nothing to worry about! It was all settled!” She turned to Karen.

“It was all over! Nothing else would have happened. Harry and I talked about it, and we both agreed it was over! There’s no reason to fire me! Please, please, make him reconsider. I need this job!”

Karen had mustered all the dignity she was capable of in wiping the smeared lipstick from her face, but Harry noted the slight tinge of red in her cheeks. Karen knew the entire office was now aware of what had happened between Harry and Mia. A more poised woman Harry would never know.

“I’m afraid it has nothing to do with me,” she said, not meeting Mia’s eyes. “I don’t tell Harry how to run the office, and it’s no business of mine whether you work here or not. Don’t make this a personal issue. And you shouldn’t have sent the house-key. Hardly a suitable gift for a married man.”

“What key? What are you talking about? I sent no one anything!”

“Don’t insult me by pretending ignorance,” Karen said steadily. “Who else would have sent it?”

Mia, in her exasperation, let out a sound which was a cross between a scream and a sob. She turned to leave the office, noting, for the first time, all the others who were shamelessly eavesdropping. There was Karl, who looked stunned by it all. Sarah, who at least had the grace to look away. Mike, who grinned cruelly. Ben and Julie were trying to look busy with their filing. She stormed out of the room completely, her sobs echoing in her wake.

Amid the sound of self-consciously shuffling feet, Karen closed her compact with a decisive snap. “I hope that’s the end of that,” she said under her breath. Standing up, she leaned in to give Harry a quick peck on the cheek. “Thank you, love. Now, I think I can relax.” Harry followed her out of the office, his shoulders slumped slightly, his hands going to his pockets. He felt the shape of a key there, a small gold key with a red dot on it. Wrapping his hand around it, he met Sarah’s eyes as he followed Karen out the door.

Tipping a quick wink at her, he smiled, glad to have killed two birds with one stone. Karen had not been the only one who had demanded Mia’s removal.


End file.
